Significant advances have been and are continuing to be made in medical technology. Despite such advances, stethoscopes remain an invaluable medical tool or instrument to health care providers such as doctors and nurses. Such health care providers routinely use stethoscopes to facilitate the patients medical care by examining the chest, abdomen, and other areas of the patient. Patients in hospitals often require a greater extent of medical care such as surgery or other invasive procedures which leave open wounds. These areas on the patient tend to secret bodily fluids which may be contaminated with infectious agents, including virus such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) thereby resulting in possible infection of the head portion of the stethoscope.
Two types of stethoscopes are commonly used by health care providers. A medical worker can use an inexpensive stethoscope that is typically disposed of after each use such as in intensive care units or wards where patients with VRE (Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus) or MRSA (Methacillin Resistant Staph. Aureus) infections are located. Such disposable stethoscopes, however, are usually ill fitting to the health care provider, poor quality, and often inadequate for detecting subtle human abnormalities. Accordingly, most physicians and nurses use their own stethoscopes. Although health care providers work with only the best intentions of the patient as their paramount concern, often times a health care provider will use a stethoscope on one patient and, then, reuse the stethoscope without specific preventive cleaning or disinfecting measures being carried out between patients. On occasion, a health care provider will swipe the head portion of the stethoscope with an alcohol swab between patients. Such cursory cleaning procedures, however, are often inadequate to completely destroy infectious contaminations on the diaphragm of a stethoscope and are often infrequently used between patients.
Medical emergencies only serve to exacerbate the problem. Often times, medical care providers simply do not have the time necessary to adequately clean the head portion of the stethoscope between patients. Moreover, during rounds, doctors are required to repeatedly pass from one patient's room to the next and yet have enough time to examine additional patients. The manual effort required to adequately clean the stethoscope may, however, detract from the time available to visit and examine patients. On the other hand, reusing the stethoscope without sufficient cleaning care being provided thereto often results in transfer of nosocomial infection or cross contamination between patients.
Thus, there is a need and a desire for an apparatus for cleaning and disinfecting the head portion of the stethoscope in a manner that does not interfere with the health care provider's ability to timely examine patients without concern over transferring nosocomial infection and contaminants between patients.